Turn Back the Clock
by DPcrazy
Summary: Clockwork has a decision to make. As usual, he must choose the lesser of the two evils. However, the lesser may involve turning back the clock of a certain someone, turning him back into a teen. Meeting this person might just drive Danny insane.
1. Prologue

**What's this? Have I actually written another story after this everlasting hiatus? GASP!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, I never will, so this will not appear on future chapters.**

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**Prologue**

Sometimes, there wasn't a good choice. All of your options sucked and there was no way out. At that point, you're in checkmate. Some people know when they're beat, some people refuse to give up.

Sometimes, you have to choose the lesser of the two evils.

It was the situation Clockwork was in right now. It was a situation he was often in. He'd seen every possible choice. All of them ended badly. Yet, there was one path that had the possibility of a happy ending. It was a risky path; one he'd be putting a lot on, but…

It was the lesser of the two evils.

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**Story inspired by my random mind and a picture I saw on Deviant Art by Windstorm1.**


	2. Broken Clocks

**And back again. On time.**

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**1**

**Broken Clocks**

Danny tapped his pencil lazily against his desk. School was almost over and he had two minutes to kill. He desperately wished that he could turn the clock ahead those last two minutes; make it all end _now,_ but he sadly did not have that ability.

He was about to sigh for the millionth time, but his breath turned cold. A coughing fit overtook him as he choked on his ghost sense. Weird. It was like his ghost sense only went half-way off before the mist stopped itself in his throat. Not a pleasant feeling, mind you.

The bell rang just as his coughs died down.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sam asked as the trio left the room commonly associated with torturous boredom.

"I'm fine," Danny assured. "But I think I just choked on my ghost sense."

"How do you choke on your ghost sense?" Tucker wondered.

"I don't know, but it's not something I want to relive."

Danny took a breath of fresh air as they left the school building. The sun was shining brightly and the town would have looked perfect if not for the constant construction downtown. You never would have guessed that it was the most haunted city in America.

Today, the three of them had plans to hang out at the Nasty Burger. The food was hardly edible, but it was the most popular place for teens to be after school. It was considered a sanctuary.

"Man, school is just too _long_," Tucker whined. "And five days a week! I can't believe it's only Wednesday."

"Got that right," Danny agreed. "I don't know why Jazz likes it so much."

"Her days don't usually include an extra hour of after-school detention," Sam pointed out.

"It's not like I can just let ghosts run rampant around here," Danny defended as they neared their destination, which had often been a target of the previously mentioned ghost attacks.

A groan suddenly sounded from the side of the fast food restaurant. Looking toward the noise, the group saw a figure sprawled on the ground.

"Probably ate too many Nasty Burgers," the half-ghost assumed.

"I hear that," Tucker agreed, thinking about the last time _he'd_ eaten too many of the greasy meat slabs on a bun.

Danny ignored his friend's comment. "Hey, Sam, what are you doing?"

The goth girl was slowly making her way to the figure. She was standing almost right over him. Kneeling down, she asked, "Are you alright?"

The figure, which was definitely that of a boy, propped himself up on one elbow with his other hand rubbing his head and looked at her curiously. "Um…I think," he said uncertainly.

For a second, Danny was hit with a wave of déjà vu and thought that he'd recognized the voice, but it passed quickly and he and Tucker jogged the rest of the way over to the two. The guy seemed to be about Danny's height, maybe an inch or two taller. Taller than Sam in any case. They seemed to have their style in common, though. While the mysterious guy was obviously not goth, he did strike a resemblance. His hair, which hung in his face despite any efforts that were made to push it back, was black. The only way they could see that his eyes were green was the small progress made from the slight parting in the center of his bangs. His skin was pale, but not quite ghostly pale. There was a tinge of color to it. Still, even Sam hadn't achieved that coloring yet and that was from years of trying. As if to hide all of these features, his hood was pulled up. Unlike normal hoodies, though, this one was short-sleeved. It was also purple with the only symbol on it being a black gear-shape on the chest. The grey cargo pants he wore weren't the too-big kind that some people wore to make themselves drown in the bagginess. They belonged to someone who liked correctly sized clothes. They covered up the legs of the boots he wore, which were identical to Sam's. The only thing that gave the teen an odd effect were the three watches strapped up each of his forearms. Yet, somehow, this style on him didn't seem as punk-wannabe as it should have.

Sam held out her hand to help him up, but he was hesitant to take it. "Who are you?" he inquired as he finally decided to accept the offer.

"Sam," she replied. "And this is Danny and Tucker. Who are you?"

He blinked, his face blank. "I…don't know."

"You don't _know?_"

"Apparently not," he said patiently, barely above monotone. "Thanks, but I should go now."

"Where?" Sam retaliated.

He shrugged, moving past her. "Who knows?"

The trio was confused as he ran off in a random direction.

"That was weird," Tucker stated.

"Tell me about it," Danny agreed.

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The unknown teenager stopped behind a building, totally out of sight. He slid down to the pavement, breathing heavily. He glanced down at his hands, turning them over. The question was unspoken, but evident. _Who am I?_

It was a question he pondered until well after the sun set.

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Jazz Fenton was just driving home from her part-time job at the local library. It was late, she knew, but she'd offered to stay after to help put away some of the books. She checked the clock on her dashboard, realizing that she was close to missing dinner. Her eyes darted back to the road just in time to see the form of a person illuminated by her headlights.

She was about to hit him.

The red-headed girl slammed on her brakes and swerved to the side. Over the screech of the wheels, she thought she heard a soft thump. When the car finally stopped, she jumped out and ran over to the guy in a panic.

"Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"

He just stared at her. Finally, he asked, "Do I know you?"

She let out her breath, relieved that he seemed fine. "Sorry, no. Are you hurt?"

He held up his arm for a second, examining it. "No, my watch is just broken." Indeed, the highest watch on his left forearm had its glass shattered and hands stilled.

"Do you need any help?" she persisted. "I could give you a ride."

"No," he refused. "Just go wherever you were going and forget all of this."

Before she could say another word, he vanished into the shadows.

Like a ghost.

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**I shall not divulge **_**anything**_** in this commentary.**


	3. Coming Back to Life

**Nothing to say. Just move along.**

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**2**

**Coming Back to Life**

The random mysterious guy stayed silent, pressing his back against the wall of the ally way. In the darkness, he would be hard to see. He watched carefully from the shadows until the red-haired girl left before moving. He let out a relieved sigh and walked out. He made sure to keep a close eye out for cars as he strolled along the night-bathed streets.

After 23 minutes of walking, according to one of his many watches, he came across a park. There was a fence around it with a sign announcing the park hours, which had long-since passed. The gate was closed. Still, he couldn't waver the thought that he had nowhere to go and that an abandoned park would be a perfect place to lie down for the night.

He couldn't remember having ever climbed a fence before in his life. That came with the fact that he couldn't remember his life, period. This said, it took a good amount of attempts and bruises to actually get up it. And when he jumped down, he twisted his ankle underneath him. This was not turning out to be a good day.

Just then, he felt something slip from his pocket. Curiously, he looked down to find an amulet of some sort on the ground. It was shaped like a gear, just like the one on his shirt, but it was blue and gold with "CW" written on it.

"C…W?" he whispered. "What's that supposed to mean?"

His sore fingers clutched the accessory tightly before placing it back into his pocket. Limping, he made it across the grassy field to a bench. The wood was hard and uncomfortable, but he was exhausted. Not to mention that his stomach was rumbling. He didn't count the minutes, but somehow he knew that it took him exactly 42 of them to get to sleep.

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Morning broke out across Amity Park. In the sky battled an odd pair; a rocker ghost and a white-haired teenage boy. They exchanged blasts at a speed that was nearly impossible to keep up with. Behind them roared a large metal vehicle that could be mistaken for nothing other than the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle. Trailing it was a hoard of police cars. Whether they were headed toward the ghost fight or simply trying to pull over the speeding vehicle was unknown.

The noise of the sirens was more than enough to wake up the snoozing boy on the park bench. His eyes opened groggily, clearly not having had enough sleep. The sight above shocked and mystified him. Were those people…floating?

He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen this all before somewhere. Was his memory coming back? He hoped it was. After the horrible attempt to sleep last night, he really wanted to know where his home was. Maybe once he was back with his family he'd finally be able to rest. That is, if he had a family at all.

Curiously, he watched as an oddly dressed pair hopped out of the metal monstrosity. One of them, the male, was wearing a vibrant orange jumpsuit and the other was dressed similarly, except that her jumpsuit was blue. They had large silvery objects in their hands. He only realized that the objects were some sort of guns after the first shots were fired.

The blasts whizzed past the ghosts. He didn't know why he felt relieved that they missed. Ignoring it, he continued watching the fight. He didn't have anything else to do as far as he knew. Other than search for his lost identity, he reminded himself.

"Hey, kid, shouldn't you be in school?" a police officer asked, coming up to him and effectively averting his attention to the fight.

"Excuse me?" the amnesiac responded.

"Are you ditching school?" the man repeated.

"Ditching?" the word felt strange on his tongue. From the officer's tone, it was not a good thing. So, he lied. "No, sir."

"Then please explain to me why you're here."

The teen did not like all of these questions. "I'm not sure."

"Don't play wise with me," the man snapped, obviously not in a good mood. "What's your name, trouble-maker?"

The boy opened his mouth and then closed it. He still didn't actually _know_ his name. Then, he thought back to the amulet he found in his pocket the previous night.

"C.W.," he answered. It was the best he had.

"Well, _C.W.,_ how about you make this easy and just head back to school? Or do you need me to take you there?"

"No thank you, officer," C.W. replied politely. He stood up, wincing when he realized that his ankle still hurt a little, and half-limped, half-ran out of the park as fast as he could. He didn't need trouble right now.

He just reached the gate when he was overtaken with a wave of dizziness. An image flashed across his vision. A hallway. There was a crowd all surrounding a tall blonde boy and a scrawny, familiar one. A confrontation of some sort. His view zoomed out to show a large brick building.

Once he regained his sight, C.W. exited the park with a newfound mission. He wanted---no---_needed_ to find the place from the vision. It might have some connection to his past. There could be someone there who knew who he was.

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"Detention, Mr. Fenton," were the first words out of Lancer's mouth when Danny showed up for class. Not bothering to argue, the boy half-ghost accepted the slip of paper and took his seat. Great. Not only did Ember get away because his parents interrupted _again,_ but now he had yet _another _after school detention. He was pretty sure that he'd broken the record. Currently, his parents were trying to get his tardies excused. This came with the price of being grounded after they received the phone call. It was going to be even harder to sneak out and fight ghosts now.

Thanks to his being late, Danny spent the last half hour of class in almost complete confusion. He'd have to get Sam's notes after school. _Again._

So, after a class of trying to remain inconspicuous, the bell finally rang and released the students into the hallways. Danny barely made it ten feet before he was thrown up against the lockers by none other than Dash Baxter.

"Hey, Fen-timbuktu. You missed your morning beating," the larger boy sneered.

Danny didn't even have the energy to pretend to be scared. He just wished that Dash would get this over with and leave him be.

"I think that's a violation of the rules."

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After having traveled for over a half hour, C.W. was sure he'd seen almost all of the town by now. He knew where the so-called "Nasty Burger" was, he knew the location of the mall, and he could find the large "Fenton Works" building no problem. But it was only just now that he'd seen the building from the vision.

"Casper High School," he muttered to himself upon learning its name. Hesitantly, he ascended the front steps and sneaked into the building. The hallways were just beginning to fill up. Thankfully, no one was giving him weird looks. He strolled down the halls, not quite positive what he was searching for. Then, he came across a large gathering of people.

With a gasp, he recognized the scene as the one from the vision. Wait, did that mean he was seeing the _future?_ Because that would be extremely freaky.

He stepped into the crowd and, sure enough, there were the two he'd seen. However, he now recognized the smaller boy as the one he'd met yesterday. What was his name? Oh, yeah. Danny.

Before he knew what exactly he was doing, C.W. stepped forward and said, "I think that's a violation of the rules."

The blonde boy turned his attention away from his current victim and onto C.W. The amnesiac wondered why he _had_ to say that? What was wrong with him? He barely even knew that "Danny" guy!

"And what are you going to do about it?" Dash taunted.

Trying to keep his cool, C.W. just shrugged. Unfortunately, the motion had the opposite effect. Instead of calming Dash down, it provoked him. Danny was dropped and the quarterback came stomping over to the oddly-dressed teen. He was all of two feet from C.W. when rescue came.

"Alright, break it up, everyone!" Mr. Lancer called.

C.W. sighed. That was close. While everyone's heads were turned, he snuck away from the group, pretending to be invisible. By the time they looked back, he was gone.

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**Alright, so he has a name now. Good, because I was getting tired of calling him "random mysterious guy." You can only type it so many times before it becomes old.**

**Also, I know there are a million-and-one amnesia stories out there. I'm making an effort to twist it.**


	4. A Wish To Be Invisible

**Yeah, yeah. Let's get on with the story.**

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**3**

**A Wish To Be Invisible**

"Okay, now I'm confused," Tucker stated.

"That makes two of us," Danny agreed.

Sam stared at the spot where the strange teen vanished. "What do you think he was doing?"

"I don't know, but let's leave it," the halfa declared. "It's none of our business."

Still, to Sam, something about all of this didn't seem right.

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C.W. ran fast and hard as soon as he was out of seeing and hearing range. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was following him. Now if only he could remember where the exit was.

He pulled short when he saw Dash pounding down the hall. Oh, great. He must have run in a circle! Thinking quick, he slid into the nearest class, wishing that now more than ever that he could turn invisible.

"Excuse me, I think you have the wrong class," a woman said from behind him. He turned to see both her and about twenty-five students staring at him.

Okay, _now_ he wished more than ever that he could turn invisible.

"Oh, sorry, my mistake," he managed to say, thankful that he didn't stutter. Slowly, he crept back out the door. C.W. shut it behind him carefully and rested against it for a moment. That was something he _never_ wanted to repeat again. He could still see all of their eyes, big and wide open, just staring. Something about that triggered an emotion within him. It might have been irritation.

Heaving a breath, he stood and made to go around the corner. However, he was forced to stop when another wave of dizziness overtook him. Just like before, images fleeted across his vision. It was brief. There was only a flash of orange and some shaking. Huh, what did that-?

_Crash!_

Guess he found out soon enough. He also updated his list of times he wished he were invisible. There was a new number one.

"My apologies," he muttered and darted away. Great, this was _literally_ the second time he'd collided with that girl. The one with the orange hair from last night. He didn't even know who the heck she was. Of course, he didn't know a lot of things and that fact only increasingly annoyed him, but it was worse because he _felt_ _like he should._ Something in his mind was telling him that he'd known all of this before. He should recognize people like "Danny" and "Sam" and "Tucker" and girl-who-crashed-into-him-with-her-car-and-broke-his-watch. Yet, they obviously didn't know him, so that didn't make any sense either.

Maybe this came with the vision territory. Was he some kind of psychic? The concept was as incomprehensible as the rest of his so-far 22-hour life.

C.W. was barely outside when he remembered his gnawing hunger. Humans needed to eat, a fact he'd neglected so far. He emptied his pockets for anything that could be of use---like _money_ for instance---but only came across the weird pendant again.

What did most people do when they didn't have any way to get food? Steal? But that wasn't right, he tried telling himself. Although, the idea still held its allure. What could it hurt to steal _one_ apple from that stand over there? Surely, nothing.

A mental plan formed in C.W.'s head. Several plans, actually. He had a desperate _urge_ to be prepared for everything. Putting Plan A it into action, he casually walked by the vendor. When the man's eyes didn't leave him, he went to an adapted version of the plan. He tripped, making sure both that he landed softly on the ground and that his foot knocked into the stand's leg, shaking a heap of the fruits down.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" C.W. lied believably. He rose and bent down to help collect the apples, putting _most_ of them into the wooden tub, but snatching two when the vendor's back was turned. He made to "scratch" at his neck, cautiously placing the apples in his raised hood.

"Sorry, sir, I'll be more careful next time," he promised once the rest of the apples were in the box.

The man just muttered something unintelligible in return. C.W. took that as his cue to take off. The minute he was out of the guy's sight, he pulled out the apples and snacked. They were bruised and only as clean as he could make them by rubbing them against his shirt, but they were delicious to a starving stomach.

After he finished, he wondered where to go next. This was soon decided for him.

"Hey, kid! I thought I told you to get to school!"

Just his luck.

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Jazz's head spun as she walked into her classroom. But what can you expect when you crash into someone?

Oh, no! It was the second person she'd crashed into in less than 24 hours! She was losing her touch!

The thoughts troubled her. She wanted badly to go track the person down and apologize. She had to fix her mistakes. The only thing stopping her was history class. Too bad that history class was a good enough thing to stop her.

_Boom!_

And now it wasn't.

The whole class emptied out of the room as an explosion shook the ground. A hole had been blasted through the wall. Lying on the floor in front of it was a white-haired teenage boy.

A white-haired teenage _ghost_ boy.

Specifically; her brother.

Jazz rushed over to help him up. "Danny, are you okay?"

"Fine…um…._citizen,_" he replied, ending in his heroic tone. Confused, Jazz turned to see her teacher approaching them. "Just get out of here," Danny whispered.

Jazz complied and followed her teacher out the door. She was about two seconds away from a lecture about safety when she slipped into the crowd. Everyone was headed toward the school's exit to assemble at the emergency meeting spot. Jazz followed them to the door, but diverged as she stepped foot outside.

Her brother didn't know that she usually hid around corners during his ghost fights and she wasn't planning on telling him, either. She just wanted to know that he was safe. Not to mention that if he got severely hurt, she could use the lipstick/blaster that she always carried around in her pocket to cause a diversion and get him out.

Ah, the joys of being an overprotective sister.

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C.W. felt something that he identified as _nervous_ as he was dragged into the police cruiser. The back seat was not a very fun place to be. Heck, there was a pane of _bullet-proof glass_ to separate him from the driver. And it was glowing _green._ Sure, he was not very knowledgeable about the world, but he knew that that was not normal.

"Why is the glass glowing?" he asked tentatively, his need for information overcoming him.

"To keep out ghosts," the man grunted.

"Ghosts?"

"Kid, this is Amity Park. Ain't you ever heard of ghosts?"

The word _did_ sound familiar. Very familiar, in fact. A flash of a green, swirling landscape appeared in his mind.

"Of course I have," he said self-assuredly. "I was just wondering why you needed such a thing in a police car."

The officer gave him a weird look. C.W. tried to look innocent.

"It's just a precaution."

While that didn't completely satisfy C.W., it was enough for him to drop the subject. Almost out of habit, he began to tinker with the watches on his wrist. He found that they were all set to the same exact time. What was the point of that? Still, he let them be and pulled at the metal clasp of the broken one. The hands on it were totally still, which could be expected from a broken clock. He fiddled with them so that the time on it matched the time on all of the others. Staring at it for a second, he decided he did not like this new arrangement and set it back. Those hands would forever stand at the time of the collision if he had any say about it. At least it was something to break the monotony of all the other ticking devices. And, hey, even a broken clock was right twice a day.

It was at this point he wondered why he cared so much. Maybe some form of head trauma caused the amnesia. That would explain his strange behavior. Although, judging from the way he was dressed, he assumed he was probably a strange person _before_ as well.

"Alright kid, get out," the officer said, coming to a stop in front of the large brick building.

Obediently, the teen hopped out of the vehicle as fast as possible and entered onto the semi-crowded school grounds.

And everyone was staring at him.

Again.

He hated his life.

His totally _visible _life.

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**(Laughs). Nothing says "I know something you don't know" like a good, seemingly random fit of laughter.**

**If you don't get the last line, scroll back up and reread the beginning.**


	5. Caught

**Back again.**

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**4**

**Caught**

Jazz smiled as her brother finished off the ghost and vanished. The damage to the grounds wasn't even that bad this time. It was mostly just the hole in the wall. An easy fix compared to the buildings that had been obliterated in previous incidences.

Turning to reunite with the rest of her class, Jazz was faced with a new scene. A police car was parked in front of the school. A boy around her age stood awkwardly in front of it. He sucked in a breath and moved away from it in strides, acting like he was _not_ the center of attention.

For a second, she thought he looked familiar. The red-head briefly studied the kid in the purple hoodie. It took until he was much closer for it to click. He was that guy she hit! Oh, crud. He went to their school? Nervously, she slunk into the crowd, hoping to vanish from sight.

That's when something struck her. No, for once it was not a glob of ectoplasm. This time, it was a thought. She hit him while he was skulking around last night and now he showed up in a police car. He'd said to her, "Just go wherever you were going and forget all of this." Was that suspicious or what?

_Buzz! _Sorry, "or what" was not the correct answer.

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Danny tried to hide his exhaustion as he stopped outside his classroom door to catch his breath. He was still sore from crashing through the wall, but he could handle it. He had to.

Mr. Lancer didn't even look at him when he came back in. Danny was grateful for this and headed to the back of the room. Sam raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. It was a sign that he was going to have to tell her everything after class.

His ghost sense went off for the second time in less than twenty minutes.

He'd have to tell her after _this,_ then.

Tiredly, Danny was about to raise his hand once more when the screeching of tires being pushed past their limit sounded. If it wasn't already obvious that his parents were here, the crashing sounds that followed gave more than enough evidence. In no time at all, the fire alarm was wailing and the classroom was being evacuated.

Danny took a turn into another hallway and disappeared around a bend, only to appear outside minutes later as Danny Phantom. The fight shouldn't be that hard to find. All he had to do was look for the misfires of his Dad's gun.

The top of one part of the building began to fall.

Ah, and there it was.

He rushed over to the location, discovering Maddie and Jack taking wild aim at the ghost, which just so happened to be Ember. So, she'd made her return. And she had company. Being held from the back of his sweatshirt was weirdo-kid.

"So, it _is_ true," she laughed in C.W.'s face. "Man, wait 'til the Ghost Zone hears about this!"

"Hears about what?" Danny asked, showing up directly behind her.

She turned vicious. "Nothing _you_ need to know about, brat."

"Whatever, just put the kid down," Danny ordered.

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C.W.'s mind was reeling. These were the flying people from before! He realized now that they were ghosts, but even still, this was all so weird. One minute he was walking down the halls and the next thing he knew, that chunk of the school had been blown up and this freak showed. Now, she was saying something about "it" being true and telling "the Ghost Zone," whatever that meant.

"Whatever, just put the kid down," the white-haired ghost ordered. C.W. felt a little indignant at being called a kid, even if it was obvious that he was one.

"Have it your way," the rocker ghost said.

He didn't even have time to scream as he fell. There was just the wind against him and the adrenaline and the ground growing closer in closer. It was like everything was in slow motion. If he wasn't scared out of his mind, this would be cool. Luckily, he was caught by the superhero-like ghost and lowered gently onto the ground.

Above them, the chick that dropped him smirked. "I don't need him anyway."

Then, she was just gone. Like, _gone_ gone. Vanished into thin air.

It was odd. He didn't even realize he'd passed out.

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Great, Danny thought. Another unconscious person. He hated when people passed out right in front of him. It made it look like it was his fault. Even worse, his Mom and Dad were _right there._

Danny was about to fly away so that he could escape his trigger-happy parents, but then noticed that something had fallen out of the kid's pocket. Bells of warning and recognition rung through his head. It was one of Clockwork's time medallions! But what was this guy doing with it?

A blast whizzed dangerously close to his head. Thinking quickly, Danny grabbed the medallion and zipped off. He'd ask the guy about it later, but for right now he had to make sure his parents---or anyone else, for that matter---wouldn't find it.

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C.W. woke up to find himself staring at a ceiling. Then, faces began to appear. At first, it was just an old woman who he instinctively knew was the nurse. Behind her he could see the curious glances of other students. At least red-head wasn't there.

He tuned in half-way through what the nurse was saying. "…name so I can call your parents."

C.W. blinked. "What?"

She sighed. "Can you give me your name? It's school policy to call your parents regardless of whether or not you decide to stay here."

"Sorry, no thanks," he replied quickly, hopping out of the cot. He pulled his hood up over his head, finding that having it down was annoying. He backed out of the room with a quick "bye" to the nurse and made his escape. She looked out the doorway for him, but by that time, he was hidden around a corner.

For a second, the teen allowed himself to slump against the hard surface. This day was wearing on his nerves. He just wanted to leave this place behind and go find out where he came from and what happened. Or even his name would be nice!

C.W. resumed looking for another exit. Enough wallowing in self-pity for now. Sitting there and moping wasn't going to get anything accomplished. If he wanted answers, he'd have to find them himself, not just hope someone would waltz up knowing everything about him.

He'd finally located a way out, but paused. Something about it didn't feel _right._ He couldn't explain it, but considering that his instincts were pretty much all he had left, he followed them. Turning around, he headed in the opposite direction. He began to regret his decision when the bell rang, but no one paid him too much attention, so that was a plus.

Almost home free, C.W. took the last step out the door only to be followed by a ton of other students. It must have been the end of the school day, he realized. He used the cover to his advantage, sneaking along until he could branch off down a random street. At least the police officer wouldn't be able to accuse him of "ditching" again.

Using Fenton Works as a guide, he made his way around the town. He watched the faces of the people around him, trying to encourage recognition, but only achieved a headache. Feeling a little frustrated, he circled back around to the park. It was getting dark and the streets were basically empty.

"Hey!" a voice called. "Slow down!"

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**You know, it's funny. I think I'm more proud of this than I am of any of my more popular stories. Maybe it's because this one has an actual, **_**planned**_** plot. Not to mention that my writing has improved. And it's not a trillion chapters long.**


	6. Time is Ticking

**Wow, guys. Thanks for such great reviews!**

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**5**

**Time is Ticking**

Danny was exhausted. He'd been searching for that kid for hours. In his last class, he'd caught sight of him out the door, ready to exit, which would have made it much easier to track him down. But _no._ he turned right around and was lost to the crowd. Danny flew around the whole town, but every time he thought he spotted the mystery kid, the guy vanished. It wasn't until dusk had settled and he'd missed the entire afternoon with Sam and Tucker that he'd found the kid alone and heading to the park.

"Hey!" Danny called. "Slow down!"

Thankfully, the boy did as he was told. He turned around to look at Danny, green eyes widening for a fraction of a second. Yet, he didn't say anything.

"Is this yours?" the halfa asked, holding up the time medallion.

"Yes, thank you," he replied, but was slightly irritated when the ghost did not hand it back.

Instead, Danny asked, "Where did you get it from?"

"I don't know," C.W. said briskly. "May I have it back now?"

Danny gave up and tossed the medallion back to the odd teen. If that kid had one of the time medallions, there must have been a reason. The time master wouldn't just let one loose among the human race, right? Still, he felt compelled to ask, "Do you know a ghost named Clockwork, by any chance?"

The amnesiac blinked. That name…it felt so _familiar._ He should know that name, he knew he should. Why didn't he? So, honestly, he answered, "I think I've heard the name before." He glanced down at the amulet in his hand. C.W….Clockwork. "Does this belong to him?"

Danny nodded and C.W. felt his heart sink a little. So, C.W. wasn't any connection to his name. It was just the initials of the owner of the pendant, which was apparently not his after all.

"What's your name?" Danny questioned. Last time they met, the boy hadn't known, saying he remembered nothing. Did the answers still match?

"I really don't know," C.W. replied. "I was trying to figure that out myself. Do you think this Clockwork person would have any idea?"

Danny wasn't sure how to answer that. Yes, Clockwork knew _everything,_ but he had no idea if he could tell that to this random, _human_ kid. The only evidence that said he might be able to was the fact that this guy _had_ a time medallion. But then again, why didn't Clockwork just come here himself if that's what he wanted?

This was where it got tricky. The time master was manipulative and hardly ever gave straight answers. It was highly possible that Clockwork _wanted_ Danny to bring the teen there. The half-ghost scanned over the amnesiac again, as if that would help him make a final decision. That's when he noticed something odd. This guy dressed kind of like Clockwork. Okay, so the similarities were few, but the resemblance was there. They both had purple hooded shirts of some kind and the watches definitely deserved some notation. However, the fact that this kid was obviously not a ghost and had far more _differences_ blurred the likeliness. Had Clockwork planned _that_ too?

Shaking his head of these thoughts, Danny came to an answer. "Yeah, he might, but it's hard to reach him and-"

"Tell me how to get there," C.W. said determinedly.

The ghost boy sighed. "I'd have to take you there and it won't be an easy trip."

"Please?" C.W. begged. "I have to find out who I am."

"Fine," Danny replied. "But it'll have to wait until tomorrow. Meet me in that ally over there at four o'clock. Got it?" A vigorous nod was his answer. Danny held back a moan from losing his Friday afternoon. "In the meantime, my name's Phantom. Danny Phantom. What do you want me to call you?"

"I'm not sure. I was going by C.W. before I figured out that it meant Clockwork," the memory-lacking teen informed. He waited for Phantom's reply.

"C.W. it is, then."

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The next day passed slowly, as Fridays usually do. Sam and Tucker were not pleased with the prospect of missing their usual end-of-the-school-week celebration with Danny. Said halfa wasn't happy either, but he had a feeling that somehow Clockwork had planned this. The guy planned _everything._ If it was happening, it was planned.

3:56 ticked by and now Danny was speeding toward the meeting place. He'd just gotten out of school, returned home to show his parents that he was not going to be out past his curfew, and then phased out of his room with a promise from Jazz that she'd cover him. It might be a little much, but he wasn't sure how long it would take. He had to calculate traveling time, which would be increased because he was going to be carrying C.W. Not to mention, he had no idea how long they'd actually be _at_ Clockwork's castle. So, it was better safe than sorry.

Danny arrived at the agreed meeting spot with one minute to spare. C.W. was already waiting there.

"You're early," the half-ghost stated.

"I didn't have much else to do," C.W. responded. "And you're early, too."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Ready?"

C.W. didn't even hesitate to nod. From what he could tell, this "Danny Phantom" was the good guy. Did that mean he fully trusted him? No, but if this was a lead to find out who he was, he would gladly take the risk.

For all his mental preparations, though, C.W. was _not_ prepared for the whole "flying" thing. His insides felt like they were in a washing machine and half of them were trying to make their way out his throat. Despite this, he was able to keep up a reasonably stoic look. He also took comfort from the fact that Phantom was too busy watching where he was flying to keep an eye on him.

As if flying wasn't bad enough, intangibility definitely sent him for a spin. He briefly wondered why they were phasing into the large Fenton Works building, but didn't question it. He got his answers soon enough when a swirling green vortex edged by a metal frame laid itself out in front of them.

The chill that rippled through him upon entering was indescribable. At the same time, it felt strangely…_welcoming._ Sort of calm. Well, it _was_ called the Ghost Zone. A place of death should be calm.

He took it back the next second when he saw a big group of ghosts fighting it out. Luckily, they stayed away from Phantom and him. C.W. tried taking in the rest of the scenery. It was all the same: green and swirly with odd purple doors floating everywhere. He looked down to see what was below him and gave a little start. But not at the endless abyss. No. He was shocked that he couldn't see his feet. Or any other part of his body, for that matter.

"Relax, we're invisible," Phantom whispered, somehow knowing that he was freaking out a bit. The ghost continued. "Which is how we need to stay if you want those other ghosts to leave us alone."

C.W. nodded even if Phantom couldn't see it. Calming down, he gazed at the scenery again. If he had to guess, he would have measured their traveling time to be 33 minutes and 16 seconds. Approximately.

Finally, a large clock tower loomed in the distance and a pang of _something_ shot through C.W. It felt a little like longing, but there was something else to it. Suffice to say that he wasn't very surprised when they landed on the floating island.

"Stay right behind me," Danny warned. "Clockwork is a really powerful ghost. He probably knows we're here, but be careful anyway.

C.W. urged himself to stay firm as they walked through the large doors. The air inside was impossibly still. He made sure to follow Phantom to the point where he was nearly stepping on the ghost boy's heels. They came into a really big, weird room with these circular glass things all around. The weird thing was; they all displayed static. Just little white and black dots crackling away. The rest of the room was filled with clocks. Lots and lots of _clocks_ in every form you could imagine. It was kinda creepy and made C.W. glance at the six watches strapped up his arms, including the broken one. He felt the need to tap it, as if that plus being here would magically bring it back to life.

Turning back to look at the room, he noticed a rack set in the far corner. On it hung several medallions that looked exactly like the one currently in his pocket. One of the hooks was empty. Is this where he got it from? He sighed. He came here to find answers, not more questions.

And what was up with all the freakin' _clocks?!_ Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. He was starting to wonder what kind of creep this Clockwork guy was.

"Clockwork!" Danny called upon noticing the absence of the time master. "Are you here?"

C.W. tried to follow close to Danny as the boy searched around the room.

"Maybe he's sleeping," C.W suggested after three minutes of fruitless searching.

Phantom shook his head. "Ghosts don't need to sleep, especially not Clockwork. He's just…gone."

The amnesiac frowned. There went his chances of finding some answers.

Danny was stuck in his own thoughts. If Clockwork wasn't here, then he probably didn't want C.W. to find out anything. It had to all be part of some big plan. Danny just wished he knew what it was.

The half-ghost was suddenly jerked out of his trance when he noticed C.W. looking weirdly at one of the screens. The strange boy raised his hand a little; palm faced toward the item and began to approach it. Danny was about to ask what the heck he thought he was doing when the screen flickered for just a second.

C.W. didn't really know what was happening, but it was just like the visions. He couldn't stop. It was as if the weird object was _pulling_ him toward it. Each step was slow and careful, but his heart went faster the closer he got. The static cleared up, but then returned. However, the closer he got, the closer the intervals of non-static were.

Danny didn't know what was going on, but his first instinct was to stop C.W. from touching that thing. He raced forward, temporarily forgetting that he could fly, and made to grab C.W.'s wrist.

His hand went right through.

He had barely any time to curse himself for not realizing that humans could go _through_ stuff in the Ghost Zone when chaos broke out.

C.W.'s fingers finally brushed against the screen and a tiny shock surged through him. The static completely vanished and was replaced by black. Almost immediately, the other screens joined it. Another pulse jolted him and it brought on a very recognizable wave of dizziness. C.W. didn't even have time to register it before he was plunged into a swirl of images and noises. None of them made sense. Everything was totally mixed up and confusing. He felt like he was going to explode.

"C.W.!" Danny screamed in horror. The strange boy looked like he was having a seizure. His eyelids were fluttering, showing nothing but whites, and he kept convulsing. Shallow, quick breaths were the only sounds he made. Danny was able to grab his shoulders and shake him, but he wouldn't snap out of it. Even when C.W.'s fingers fell away from the object, he just fell off balance and limply into Danny's arms.

Danny was beginning to shake a little at this point. It seemed like forever until it stopped. At last, C.W.'s eyes rolled back into place and his breathing slowed. A dazed look took over.

"Are you alright?" Danny asked.

"Wha' w's that?" he slurred, blinking lazily.

The half-ghost frowned, not only because of the failed speech attempt, but because the boy's green eyes were glowing slightly. Not good.

"I don't know. You tell me," was Danny's decided reply.

C.W. winced, a hot pain jabbing at his brain. "Ow. Hurts."

Danny sighed and gave up. He tried to help C.W. to his feet, but the guy could _not_ stay up. With most of C.W.'s weight leaning against him, Danny tried to move forward. It didn't work. They hadn't even made it one step before C.W. passed out.

_Great_, Danny thought. _Just great._

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**(Whistles). That was twice as long as my usual chapters. Well, I hope you enjoyed it!**


	7. We Meet Again

**Onward!**

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**6**

**We Meet Again**

Danny had no idea what to do with the unconscious kid. On one hand, he could just put him back where they met. On the other, he wondered if that was dangerous and irresponsible. He didn't have to think long on it.

"Hey, Danny, is that you?" the voice of Jazz called. She descended quickly down the stairs of the lab only to stop dead when she saw her brother and his company. "Company" referring to the passed out C.W. being held up by the young halfa.

"Hey, Jazz," he greeted casually. He noticed her staring at his traveling companion. "This is C.W. He's the one-"

"Oh, my gosh!" she exclaimed. "He's that guy I hit with my car!"

Danny stared at her incredulously. "You hit him with your _car?_ Well, I guess we know why he lost his memory."

"No!" Jazz defended quickly. "I mean; I didn't _really_ hit him. Just his arm and he said he was fine."

"Calm down," Danny said, seeing how panicky his sister was getting. "Anyway, I'm just trying to figure out what to do with him. I'm not sure whether or not it's safe to just leave him back by the park."

Jazz frowned. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure," Danny replied. "He touched something in Clockwork's castle and it was like he was having a seizure or something. Then he passed out."

Her eyes went a little wide at that. "Maybe the hospital, then?"

"Which would be great…if we could explain what happened. I can't say anything about being in the Ghost Zone."

She sighed. "Let's put him on the couch. But if he doesn't wake up in an hour, then it's to the hospital whether we have an explanation or not."

"Got it," Danny agreed. "And if he does wake up, we'll just tell him we're friends of Phantom."

"And I'll work on a story for Mom and Dad," Jazz added.

Danny mentally groaned as the plan was set. "Jeez, what a way to start a weekend."

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The sound of ticking was the first thing to reach C.W.'s ears. Tick-tock, tick-tock. Soothingly rhythmic, but at the same time enough so that he couldn't sleep any longer. His green eyes opened to a very unfamiliar setting.

"Hey, you're up," said a voice. But this one was recognizable. Decidedly feminine. He'd heard it somewhere before…

Oh, crud.

"Danny!" girl-who-hit-him-with-her-car yelled. "He's up!"

Footsteps sounded and C.W. felt his heart beat faster. Where was he? Why was she here? _What was going on?_

Sucking in a breath, he sat up and rubbed his head, which was throbbing uncontrollably. Brief sparks of color dashed against his vision for a second. Ah! Now he remembered. He passed out at…at…Clockwork's place! Wow, he'd been passing out a lot lately. How many times? He lost count. Three, maybe?

Then he remembered lots of pictures and noises. It was like an explosion inside his head. Even thinking about it hurt.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

He didn't want to answer. He didn't want to be anywhere _near_ this place. However, it was common courtesy. "Fine. Who-?"

"We're friends of Phantom," a male voice replied before C.W could finish. C.W. turned to see Danny standing a short distance away. He walked a little bit closer. "I'm Danny. I think we've met before."

"Yeah, I remember you," C.W. informed.

"I'm Jazz," girl-who-hit-him-with-her-car introduced. So her name was Jazz. He repeated it silently to himself. _Jazz._ At least it was shorter than girl-who-hit-him-with-her-car.

"Nice to meet you," he said. In his mind, he added _"Again."_ He avoided saying it so as not to bring up any of their other meetings.

Jazz felt a little relieved. It seemed like he didn't remember her. Good. She didn't want to be forever marked as the girl who hit him with her car.

An uncomfortable silence followed.

Nervous, C.W. said, "Well, I should probably get going now. Uh…thanks." He got up and looked for a door. If he didn't find a way out of here soon, he might just scream.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Jazz questioned. "Phantom said something about being shocked or something." Even if he didn't remember, the red-head still felt guilty.

"Absolutely fine," he assured, finally spotting what looked like the front door.

"What about your memory?" she asked persistently.

He stopped dead. His voice went flat. "If it comes back, it comes back. If it doesn't, I'll figure something out."

No one spoke after that. C.W. went to open the door without hassle. His hand was all of an inch from the knob when it was like he was being shocked again. There was barely any dizziness before the images came to him. He saw the oddly dressed couple from the park this morning. They burst through the door that he was just about to open. Inexplicably, he knew that the two were the parents of Danny and Jazz. Snapping back to consciousness, he pulled sharply away from the door, much to the curiosity of the other two teens.

No one even had time to ask what happened before Jack and Maddie slammed open the door, missing C.W. by a few precious centimeters.

"We're home!" Jack called unnecessarily.

"Oh, who's this?" Maddie wondered, noticing C.W.

"Uh…" the amnesiac stammered, a little afraid of these people.

"This is C.W.," Jazz announced. "We were studying for a big test coming up soon."

"Well, that's great," the mother answered.

While both parents had their gaze turned to Jazz, C.W. casted the red-head a confused look.

"But he was just leaving," Jazz continued. "Right?"

"Uh…riiiight," C.W. responded, still a bit puzzled. He decided to go along with it, though. "See you."

He ran out the door, hoping the exact opposite.

"Nice boy," Maddie commented.

"Eh, too shaky to be ghost hunter material," Jack noted.

Jazz and Danny sighed, glad that their parents didn't suspect anything.

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That night, C.W. couldn't sleep. Not being confined to a simple room, he was able to pace most of the park while he pondered his recent problems.

One: His memory wasn't getting much clearer.

Two: Phantom, Danny, and Jazz.

Three: The visions.

Obviously, he couldn't do anything about the first one. He'd already walked around the city in search of things that would register as familiar. Nothing did. The whole time, it felt like he was stuck behind glass, just observing. No one had put up signs about a missing kid, so no one was looking for him. It made him feel a little lonely, but not as much as it should have. Maybe he was mentally deficient and that was why no one was looking for him.

So, far, he'd met all of eight people. First, he'd met…darn, it! He forgot her name. Well, in any case, he met that darkly dressed girl who was there when he first woke up. Then, there were the two people beside her. There was that boy with the glasses and then there was Danny. After Danny, he sort of met Jazz. C.W. wasn't sure if being hit with a car technically counted as _meeting_, but he let it slide. The police officer was after that, telling him that he was "ditching" a school he didn't attend. Twice. Then, Phantom stopped him and they went to the "Ghost Zone" and _didn't_ meet Clockwork, the only person/ghost/whatever who might actually have answers as to who he was. At the castle place, he'd touched that weird glass thing and passed out, then woke up in Danny and Jazz's home. He'd been reacquainted with them and then met their parents when he was almost bowled over by the door.

All of it was starting to sound like a really bizarre dream. It didn't help that he had the freaky visions. That could have potentially been another reason no one was looking for him. Which brought up the question if he had them at all before he lost his memory. Maybe he'd been normal at one time. Maybe he'd always been a freak, just freakier now. He had no idea.

Still thinking on that, he wondered if he could control them at all. Frowning---not that he'd been smiling in the first place---he sat down on the grass and closed his eyes. Breathe in, breath out, he thought. Just like meditation. If he focused hard enough, maybe he'd get a picture. When that didn't work, he tried imagining the faces of people he'd seen today. Nothing happened, but for reasons he couldn't understand, he kept mixing up Danny and Phantom. He'd think of Danny and it would work for a few seconds, but then the image in his head would switch to Phantom or vice versa. It was quite annoying. At some point, he recalled that Phantom's first name was Danny, too, and blamed it on that.

Something wet touched his face. C.W. opened his eyes to see that water was leaking from the sky. Rain. With a sigh, the teen stood, wondering what he was going to do. The bench wasn't going to provide him much protection and he had a feeling that it was going to start coming down hard soon. With a sigh, C.W. turned around.

And screamed.


	8. Seeing the Past

**So sorry I'm late. To be honest, I got so wrapped up with school and a non-FFN writing project that I totally forgot to post.**

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**7**

**Seeing the Past**

_Something wet touched his face. C.W. opened his eyes to see that water was leaking from the sky. Rain. With a sigh, the teen stood, wondering what he was going to do. The bench wasn't going to provide him much protection and he had a feeling that it was going to start coming down hard soon. With a sigh, C.W. turned around._

_And screamed._

In front of him was a very scary, unusual face. It was like that of a robot, but it had green flames coming out the top of its "head." Paling, if that was even possible, C.W. retreated backwards, trembling.

"You're lying," the thing called to something behind it. "There's no way that's him."

"What?" said another voice. The body it belonged to moved outward from the shadows revealing it as a strange man with a white mullet…and green skin. "Of course it is. Can't you see the resemblance?"

"They dress alike," the robot admitted, "But it's impossible for this simple _human_ to be the Master of all Time."

C.W. retreated farther, not caring about what they blathered on about so long as he wasn't anywhere near them. Were they…ghosts? Like Phantom and that rocker girl?

The rain picked up its pace, soaking C.W. uncomfortably, but not distracting the feuding ghosts in the least. About to run like heck, the amnesiac started moving away faster, but wet grass does not like fast movement. C.W. slipped.

With a yelp, the boy hit the ground, re-twisting his not-fully healed ankle. His hood fell back from his face, letting the water soak through his messy dark locks and pushing them further into his eyes. The ghosts obviously noticed and turned to him.

"Hm," the one with the white mullet contemplated. "Never mind, it seems my sources misled me. They _don't_ look very much alike."

"I just _told_ you that," the robot growled.

A new voice entered the conversation. "Wow, and here I was thinking that I might actually get a peaceful evening."

The two ghosts looked up in shock to see none other than Danny Phantom.

"So," the ghost boy continued, "Are you going to give up now or do you actually need me to fight you?"

"Oh, relax, ghost boy," Technus said. "We're not here to fight you."

"Although if it's a fight you want…" Skulker led off, drawing out a glowing green blade.

Danny fired up his ghost ray, ready to strike. With a smirk, Skulker withdrew the knife.

"Maybe another time, ghost child," he suggested in a creepy, deep voice. "But for now, I think Technus and I have some business back in the Ghost Zone."

Before anyone could blink, the two were gone. Danny looked away from where they'd vanished to C.W., sitting dumbly on the wet grass and totally soaked through. Although, Danny wasn't doing much better.

"Why are you out in the rain?" the half-ghost wondered.

C.W. finally turned his attention to Danny. He didn't have a very good excuse, so he just shrugged.

That's when Danny noticed how the older teen was holding his ankle. "Did you hurt your ankle?"

"No," C.W. lied automatically. As if to prove it, he stood up, accidentally wincing when he put pressure back on it. So much for convincing.

"You should probably get that checked out," Danny warned.

Trying not to be rude, C.W. said, "Don't you have someone else to save or something?"

"Not currently, but whatever. It's not my job to look after amnesiacs wandering around in the park during a rainstorm." He inched away, waiting to see if C.W. made any moves.

"Bye, then," C.W. called, limping in the complete opposite direction.

"But it is my job to be the hero and help people when they're hurt or in need," Danny muttered, flying away while simultaneously pulling out his cell phone. "Hey, Jazz? Yeah, I'm fine. Listen, we've got a situation over here…"

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C.W. slumped against the fence, his ankle throbbing now. It didn't matter if he sat in the wet grass; he was as drenched and dirty as he could possibly be already. Shivering, he pulled his hood back over his head out of habit and rubbed his arms. When did it get so _cold?_

Letting his eyes shut, he huddled into a shivering ball. He needed all the warmth he could get. Besides, it wasn't like he had to worry about anyone seeing him. He was alone in the park in the middle of a rainstorm. Who in their right mind would be here?

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Jazz pulled on her raincoat and grabbed her keys quickly. Danny had just called her about that kid from earlier. She knew that Danny didn't really like to get into other people's business, but she also knew that he had a hard time leaving someone alone if they were hurt. Her brother had a big heart, that was for sure.

That didn't meant that Jazz wasn't worried either. Plus, maybe this would stop making her feel guilty for almost running him over. She didn't know what she was going to do. Yes, she'd go there and see if he was alright, but then what? If his ankle was hurt bad, then she'd have to take him to the hospital. If it was just sprained, then she could take care of it, but did he even have a place to stay?

These problems were still bothering her as she drove around the edge of the park, looking for a purple hoodie. There! She saw the figure of C.W. pressed up to a fence. She may have been imagining things, but she thought he was shivering. It was almost unbelievable that she'd ever thought he was a delinquent.

Parking the car, she hopped out with an umbrella held over her head. Yep, that was definitely him and there was no doubt that he was shivering. As she drew closer, she could even see the slight bluish tint to his skin. It made him look a little like a ghost.

"Need a hand," she offered, holding one out.

Surprised, he glanced up. C.W. felt speechless.

"What…how…?" he stammered.

"Phantom called," Jazz answered.

"So you just do everything Phantom says?" C.W. asked.

"No," Jazz answered. "But that doesn't mean I can't help out of my own free will."

"Why?" he questioned.

She grabbed his hand and helped him get up. She didn't comment when he bit his lip upon putting pressure to his ankle.

"Anyone else would do the same thing."

He just looked at her curiously. Suddenly, the orange hair and teal eyes began to seem familiar to him. With a shock, they blurred quickly into another image. This wasn't like the other visions, though. In this one, Jazz was younger. She was running around happily in this very same park on a bright, sunny day. Then, in a flash, it was gone.

"C.W.!" she shouted right next to him.

"Huh?" he muttered. "Oh, just zoned out a little. Did you say something?"

"Yeah," she responded, looking suspiciously at him. "I'm parked right over there. Do you want a ride?"

"To where?" he wondered.

"Where are you staying?"

He debated for a few seconds, but in a rash, spur of the moment decision, decided to be honest. "You're looking at it."

Her frown deepened. "C'mon, we'll figure something out. You should probably get that ankle looked at, though."

C.W. blinked. "Phantom said the same thing."

"Which means we're both right," she retorted. She began to walk, but he just stayed put. She turned around. "Are you coming or not?"

He debated it for a second, getting soaked all the while, before realizing that if he stayed out here much longer, he'd probably get sick. "Yes. Thank you."

Even if he couldn't see it, Jazz was smiling.

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Danny's phone started beeping out its cheerful little tune. It was late at night, but that was okay because it was Friday. He pulled the device out of his pocket and checked the caller ID. Sam.

"Danny!" she greeted happily. "We've been trying to call you for hours!"

"Sorry, Sam," he apologized. "I got a little tied up."

"With what?"

"It's a long story, but remember how I told you about trying to help that guy who said he couldn't remember anything? It was a dead end and he left, but I found him again later in the middle of the park during the rainstorm with a twisted ankle. I called Jazz and she brought him here, so now he's the temporary Fenton family house guest until we can find out where he came from."

"…You're right, that was a long story. But, wow."

"I know."

"Well, be careful, alright?" Sam warned. "You haven't had very good luck with any of your other 'house guests' so far."

"Got it," Danny agreed. His phone started beeping. "Can you hang on a second? Tuck's calling."

"Talk to you later." She hung up.

"Hi, Tucker," Danny greeted before he was launched into a very similar conversation.

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C.W. had only as much pride as he could gain from two and a half days of living and right now, it was being crushed. He was having a hard time _not_ hissing in pain while Jazz was trying to wrap up the swelling and bruising mess that was his ankle. She said it wasn't broken, but things weren't looking very good right now.

She finished up and asked, "What the heck did you _do?_ Jump off a cliff?"

"No," he answered truthfully, "just the top of a fence."

"Well, no more fence-jumping, okay?"

He nodded. It's not like he wanted to in the first place.

"How's your head?"

The question was a little unexpected. "Fine. Why?"

"You zone out a lot like you have a headache or something."

Darn, she was observant. Keeping his cool, C.W. replied, "Probably just a side-effect of the amnesia."

"Uh-huh," Jazz said as if she didn't fully believe him.

Maddie strolled into the room. A frown marked her face as she saw the disheveled boy again. It was no wonder. With his pale skin, wet hair dripping into his face, and general look-what-the-cat-dragged-in appearance, he wasn't a very pretty sight. _Sickly_ would be an accurate description.

As a mother, Maddie was still very worried about letting a stranger into their house, never mind _stay_ there for a bit. However, she was a very kind and giving woman. She knew better than to think, "Oh, it's just a kid, so it's fine." Even kids could cause significant damage. She couldn't let her mother's instinct take control of her, but anyone who laid eyes on this kid would agree that he was a pitiable sight. She figured she should just keep a cautious eye on him.

Upon seeing her, C.W. lowered his head a bit and said, "I apologize for being a burden. Are you sure you do not want me to leave?"

Well, at least no one could say he was disrespectful.

"Of course not," Maddie answered. "I don't think you could make it out there by yourself, especially with that ankle." She came slightly closer and noticed C.W.'s tendency to try to shrink away. She ignored it. "How long have you been in the streets for?"

"Two days. Not including today."

Both female's eyes widened.

"And you remember nothing before that?" the mother continued.

He shook his head, uncomfortable with the situation. He _hated_ not knowing.

Unexpectedly, he felt his lungs move oddly and his jaw muscles strain. He tried to choke back the yawn unsuccessfully.

"We'll talk more tomorrow," Maddie assured. "Jazz, you want to help him get to the guest room?"

The girl nodded and complied. C.W. felt even more of his meager pride being sucked away as he was led around in the unfamiliar house, Jazz having to stop him from losing his balance occasionally. On their way down one hall, they passed Danny. The half-ghost gave the pair a strange look.

Something was unsettling about that guy.


	9. Interrupting the Parade

**I'm late, I know, and I make no excuses.**

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**8**

**Interrupting the Parade**

Danny shot up in bed as his ghost sense went off. Thanks to that thing, he was becoming a light sleeper. Sighing, he routinely transformed into Phantom and jumped out the window. Surveying the area, he realized there was a small grouping of ghosts about twenty feet away. They weren't doing anything, just floating and talking. The closer he got, he realized he could recognize none of them.

When Danny was about seven feet away, they took notice of him and scrambled. The confused look on his face would have explained his next sentence even if he hadn't said it. "What the heck?"

Ghosts didn't just _fly away_ from him like that. This was totally bizarre. Looking around, he realized that they'd left without a trace. Dumbly, he floated back to his house. He was at his window when a small chill overtook him. It was odd because it was a warm, late spring night. Shaking it off as nothing of importance---or nothing of such great importance that it couldn't wait until it _wasn't_ three in the morning---Danny returned to his room and was practically asleep before he even changed back.

Two rooms down, another adolescent male figure was also sleeping. His hair, having been released from the hood, was splayed around him. Even asleep, he managed to radiate a certain tenseness. He turned to his side, shivering. Behind his eyelids, images were playing in rapid-fire succession. Faces, names, events, clocks. So many clocks. All ticking, ticking, ticking. Then, one sound drowned out everything.

"_Time's up."_

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There were some very quirky things about C.W. that were noticed very quickly. First off, he could fix any kind of clock in a heartbeat. That morning, Jack had tested out one of his new inventions, but it hit the kitchen clock, causing it to fall to the floor. C.W. picked it up, messed with the gears, and it was working in no time.

The second was that he refused to take his hood down. Even inside, he had it pulled up over his head. When asked why, his only answer was that it was because it felt familiar. No one was sure if he was telling the truth or not.

Thirdly, he "spaced out" a lot. One second, he would be functioning just like any other human being and then his eyes would get distant. Upon returning to reality, he'd sometimes shake his head or look around. Often times, he would say or do something odd. On more than one occasion, that odd something would end up preventing something else. Jazz was particularly keen on this and it caused Danny to go on high alert.

That was why he chose to follow them to the mall. Maddie was at the police station checking out the missing children records and Jack was…somewhere. No one really knew what he was saying as he bolted out the door, but it sounded a lot like, "There's a sale on fudge!" Jazz needed to pick up some books, but she didn't want to leave C.W. alone with Danny, so she invited him to come "in case anyone recognized him." Of course, Danny didn't want to leave _Jazz_ alone with C.W., so he tagged along, claiming that he needed to get something as well. Those were the events that led to all three being at the mall.

In the bookstore, C.W. veered off from them subtly as Jazz was looking for the section she needed. He weaved between the shelves, occasionally picking a random book off the shelf to observe it. He wondered if he'd ever read any of them before he lost his memory. Although, a lot of the older books held some sense of familiarity to him and the history books he felt like he could actually remember parts of. It was as if he could _see _some of the events.

Danny realized they lost C.W. about three minutes after he left. Instead of alerting Jazz, he snuck off as well. C.W. wasn't that difficult to find, but the size of the store definitely complicated things. Eventually, a purple hoodie was spotted.

"Trying to lose us?" Danny asked.

C.W. looked at him in confusion. "No."

"Danny?" Jazz suddenly called. "C.W.?"

They turned around to see her at the end of the aisle, a bag in her hand.

"There you are," she breathed, approaching them. "What are you doing over here?"

"The historical books are…fascinating," C.W. supplied, putting back the one he was currently holding.

Jazz raised an eyebrow and decided to leave it alone. "I just bought all of the books I was looking for. Danny, what did you need to get?"

"Oh, um…" he stuttered, not actually having anything in mind. "I forgot?"

"Uh-huh," she responded skeptically. "Are you two ready to go, then?"

Danny nodded, trying not to look guilty. C.W. was zoning out again.

"C.W.?" Jazz asked warily.

He snapped out of it, but his green eyes were wide. Without warning, he pushed Jazz out of the way not a second before the bookcase near them tumbled down. It would have hit her.

Danny and Jazz stared at the bookcase in shock, then at C.W.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" a girl screamed, evidently the one who knocked the bookcase down. "Is anyone hurt?"

Jazz was the first to come back to reality. "No, we're fine. It just missed us."

C.W.'s eyes didn't leave the bookcase. There was a faraway look hidden in their green depths, but not like the one accompanied by his visions. He was thinking. If that had hit her, she would have received a concussion. He knew because he saw it. There would have been blood spilling from her head, onto the crisp pages of the books, staining them red. She might have been dead, joining the millions of others described in the very books that destroyed her. How ironic.

C.W. was oblivious to the strange stares he was getting from Danny and Jazz. Danny, in particular. It was at least a minute before Jazz placed a hand on C.W.'s shoulder and asked, "Are you alright?"

He nodded and let his eyes finally leave the bookcase.

"Then I think it's time to go," Jazz said. No one argued.

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"I mean, it's like he knows something we don't," Danny complained to Jazz. "And have you noticed how _weird_ half of the stuff he says is? Or does? Like the way he pushed you out of the way today before that bookcase hit you. How did he know that was going to happen? Not to mention how ghosts are always around him."

"Danny, calm down," Jazz soothed. "I know C.W. is a little…strange, but I don't think he's planning anything against us. And I don't know about you, but I'm thankful he didn't let me get squashed. Still, we can keep an eye on him."

Danny sighed. "Is Mom going to the police station today?"

"Yes," Jazz answered. "If there are any reports of missing children with C.W.'s description, he'll be out of here. In the meantime-"

She was interrupted by Danny's ghost sense. He groaned, but was directed to the source by a crash downstairs. Changing into Phantom, he fell through the floor and surveyed the sight around him. The table was flipped over and there was Desiree with her hands around the neck of---who else?---C.W.

She cackled as she half-strangled him. "It worked? Hah! It seems you are not as _great_ as they say."

Danny decided to cut her rant short, shooting her with a ghost ray. She was flung against a wall and forced to drop C.W. He gasped for air as he hit the floor. Desiree growled.

"Insolent boy, you _dare_ hit me?!"

"We've been through this before," Danny retorted. "Yes."

She transformed her hand into a club and swung it toward Danny. The ghost boy caught it and turned them both intangible, dragging her outside with him. He slung her away and she retracted the club.

"Why do all the ghosts keep attacking C.W.?" Danny ordered.

"You don't _know_?" she sneered. "That boy is no ordinary boy! He is a ghost turned human. I was in the process of granting a wish when that meddlesome ghost appeared and intercepted. In the process, he was turned into an average, human teenager."

"So you know who he is," Danny assumed.

"Of course!" she cried. "He is none other than Clockwork: ghost of time!"

Danny went pale, accidentally allowing himself to be hit with a blast from Desiree. It wasn't until he was prying himself from the pavement that what she said sunk in. "C.W. is Clockwork?"

"You are slow," Desiree taunted. "Both physically and mentally."

Danny scowled at her. "Then I wish-!"

"Uh-uh-uh," Desiree said. "I don't feel like granting your wish. Goodbye, ghost boy."

She vanished into nothing, leaving a very irritated Danny behind. The half-ghost flew back into the house, changing in his room before pounding down the stairs. Jazz was helping C.W. up, the boy looking weary and confused.

"Jazz," Danny practically barked, "can I talk to you for a second?"

Before she could reply, he dragged her away.

"Danny, that was rude," she scolded.

"C.W. is Clockwork," the boy blurted out.

She looked at him in shock. "What?"

"Desiree just told me that she turned Clockwork into a human teenager by accident and he's standing _right downstairs_."

Jazz tried to keep a calm demeanor. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed. "It makes sense, now. That's why he keeps doing all this freaky stuff. Maybe not _all_ of his powers were erased by Desiree because he's such a powerful ghost. Now that I think about it, I can see the resemblance, too. It also explains why Clockwork wasn't at his castle." Unbeknownst to Danny, he had started pacing in rapid circles.

"Danny, stop!" Jazz ordered. He halted and looked intently at her. She sighed. "If what you say is true, then we have to help him get back to normal, right?"

Danny nodded vigorously.

"Good, so let's go talk to him."

Danny grabbed her arm to stop her from charging off downstairs. "Jazz, if we tell him we think he's the ghost of all time turned human by the powers of genie ghost, he'll think we're crazy. Even to me it sounds crazy!"

She frowned. "What do you suggest we do, then?"

"Wait until Desiree comes back. Then, I can fight her and wish that C.W.---er, Clockwork---was back to normal," he said. "Until then, we'll have to keep an eye on him. There's no telling how much trouble an amnesiac ex-ghost with the power to see the future could get into."

Agreeing, they rushed downstairs, only to find that C.W. was gone.

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**Come on, you all saw that coming. Sorry I didn't have a more interesting twist. Also, I'd like to mention a few other things.**

**1. The next chapter will finish up the story.**

**2. The chapter titles _do_ all have double meanings.**

**3. There's one hint in all of the chapters. It's very subtle, but I was wondering if anyone got it.**


	10. Time Out

**9**

**Time's Out**

C.W. ran until his lungs burned, feet pounding mercilessly on pavement. His head throbbed and there was the ticking. The ticking was all around him. It was in the trees, resounding off the buildings, invading his mind. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. Around him, it was like everything passed by in slow motion. He could have sworn that the birds were more-so hanging in the sky than flying. He concluded that it was the migraine warping his perspective of everything.

He tumbled down on the ground, too dizzy to keep balanced. Every time he tried to get back up, he fell down only a few seconds later. His knees and palms burned, having been scratched repeatedly. His bad ankle pounded with a vengeance, disliking his heavy use of it while it was still injured. It made it nearly impossible for him to stand and agonizing when he managed to do so. A car whirred up beside him. He dragged himself away from the noise until he hit a wall. The sound of the engine didn't stop and neither did the ticking.

Footsteps.

C.W. looked up blurrily at a face. Oh, man. Not this guy.

"It's _you_ again," the officer huffed. "Whacha doin' to look so suspicious _now_, kid?"

"Wasn't doin' anything," C.W. slurred.

The officer's eyes narrowed. C.W. felt a prick of annoyance. Why couldn't this guy leave him alone? He was almost as bad as Wa-

C.W.'s head gave another throb accompanied by a flash of a blurry white figure. The boy buried his head in his hands, eyes squeezed shut. Was this a memory?

"Kid?" the officer asked, this time sounding a bit worried.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

The officer grabbed his arm.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

"Kid?"

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

A cold pain seeped through C.W.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

He screamed.

C.W. shoved away the officer's arm. The man was about to reprimand him for it, but was knocked back by an unseen force. The cold engulfed C.W. as he shot up and sprinted away. He could barely see where he was going. Images flashed in the corner of his eyesight. He passed a woman with a shopping bag and a picture of a crying baby pierced his mind. A red car zoomed by and he mentally saw it crashing. His visions were playing rapid-fire, burning his mind with knowledge.

A siren wailed behind him. The police officer. C.W. was being chased. His legs pulled to the right and he felt grass under his feet. He barely recognized this place as the park that so often had offered him a safe haven, but almost just as often led him into trouble. He obscurely hoped that this was one of his luckier days as he darted into the trees, collapsing behind a large oak.

The world around C.W. began to darken and twist even further into deformity. "Go away," he whispered. "Go…away…"

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-

-K-

Maddie Fenton opened her front door, only to find her children worriedly sitting at the table (which she noticed looked like it had been attacked by something). Their talking stopped the second she walked through.

"Danny, Jazz, what's-?"

"C.W. is gone," Jazz blurted. "He ran off."

Maddie frowned. It only deepened when Danny shoved himself up from the table.

"I'll check the park," he offered, remembering how C.W. was almost always there. And if he wasn't, Danny could search the whole town. The ability to fly _did_ come in handy for such situations.

Ignoring his mother's confused look, he bolted out the door, changing into Phantom the first chance he got. If C.W. had been _just_ C.W., Danny might not be as worried, but C.W. was _Clockwork._ Even worse, he'd already proven he was horrible at living it out on the streets with no guidance. There was no way Danny was going to be the one responsible for letting the Master of All Time get himself killed.

Down below him, Danny saw a police car with siren wailing park by the large fenced-in field. He thought nothing of the police man stepping out of it, but instead focused on looking for a purple hoodie amidst the park visitors. He saw a few splotches of the color, but closer inspection revealed none of them to be C.W. He was about to move on when he saw the cop again. The man was moving for the trees.

Danny began to follow him, wondering if it was possible they were looking for the same person. If not, it was probably a good idea to check the forest anyway. If C.W. wanted to play hide-and-go-seek, the forest would be an excellent place to conceal himself.

The ghost boy strayed from the officer's path, taking a different route. He'd walked maybe ten feet when a sudden chill came over him. He stayed stock-still, looking and listening. Slowly, he took a step. Something caught his eye. Walking a little further, Danny caught a glimpse of something purple.

Clockwork!

The boy walked faster, his target coming more-so into view. It was definitely C.W. The ghost-turned-human was hunched against a huge tree, his body almost doubled over. Gingerly, Danny asked, "C.W.?" When he got no response, he touched the elder teen's arm.

It felt like ice.

Worried, Danny began to shake him a little. The groan that followed was enough to relieve Danny at least a little bit. Green eyes squinted up from underneath the hood, meeting Danny's own.

"Phantom?" he rasped.

Steps crunched on leaves. Danny turned them both invisible just as the police officer came by. The man glanced around quickly before moving on. The ghost boy dropped their invisibility.

"Are you alright?" Danny questioned.

C.W. nodded. "Thanks."

"What are you doing out here?"

"I…" C.W. stopped himself short as his head throbbed again. He saw a picture of Danny Fenton.

"Hey!" Danny shouted, trying to pull C.W. back to attention.

It worked. The teenage Clockwork pushed himself to his feet, favoring his non-injured leg. "F-Fine. I'm fine."

Danny knew that the boy was lying. He was most certainly _not_ fine. He decided to vocalize this. "Look, I can see that you're obviously not feeling too well. Why don't I take you back to the Fentons' and…"

"No!" C.W. exclaimed. Then, trying to amend, he said, "That's alright. I'll just be on my way."

He managed to take all of two steps before he was paralyzed once more. Danny's eyes went wide as C.W. started shivering, falling to his knees not five seconds later. The former ghost of time knotted his hands in his jet-black hair, trying to push away the images that were penetrating his mind. There were too many to keep track of. Jack Fenton. Maddie Fenton. A man getting zapped by a green ray. A ghost, clad in a white suit. Jazz. Sam. Tucker. A young boy, screaming. Electrocuted. Most of them revolved around Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom. All flashing so quickly he could barely catch what was going on. The last one was the only one that stuck.

"_I'm going ghost!" cried Danny Fenton. White rings appeared around his waist and moved apart. Together, they brought Danny Phantom into existence, taking the place of Fenton._

C.W. gasped as he was pulled out of the stream of visions. It was like breaking the surface of cold water. The chill was still with him.

Speaking of chills, Danny felt his ghost sense hiccup oddly, just like it had a few days ago. Immediately following, it went off fully. He glanced down at C.W. whose green eyes were wide and staring directly at him. Danny muttered, "Be right back. Stay there," and took to the sky to look for whatever troublesome ghost was out there.

Finally, he spotted her. Desiree was back, but Danny was ready to take her down this time. He _needed_ to get Clockwork back to normal. Well, as normal as being the ghostly Master of All Time could be.

"Game over, Desiree," he snarled.

She raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. "And you think _you_ have the power to end it?"

Danny hurled several ice blasts at her, one of them connecting with her arm and freezing it solid. He smirked. "Actually, yeah, I do."

Furious, Desiree transformed her arm into a giant mallet, breaking the ice. She swung it at Danny, but the boy dodged and chose to strike her with a large ecto-blast. Before she could even think to hit again, he duplicated himself.

The ghost genie tried to take them out one by one, but every time she tried, another one was there to stop her. She roared in frustration.

"Had enough?" Danny asked, all four of him crossing their arms.

"Not nearly," she snapped, sending out a shockwave of pink energy. This time, all four Dannys were hit. The real one was hurdled to the ground while the others vanished. Desiree floated over him, smug. "Had enough?" she mocked.

In response, Danny froze her from the neck down. She struggled against the encasing as she was brought down to earth. Danny stood over her, looking triumphant. "Not nearly." His gaze turned dark. "Now, I wish Clockwork was the ghost Master of All Time again, just like he was before you turned him human."

Desiree's eyes widened as she struggled against her own power. "No!" she wailed. Smoke poured out from around her and settled over the area. When it faded, Desiree was exhausted.

"I'll make this quick," Danny said, sucking her into the thermos. When he was finished, he darted back into the forest. He needed to make sure that the wish turned out correctly. He looked for nearly ten minutes, but Clockwork was nowhere to be found.

-K-

A ghostly castle, full of clocks, floated in the Ghost Zone. Each and every one ticked exactly on time. All of the screens that littered a particular room were filled with images. In front of them was a young man in a purple cloak. He watched a particular screen on which a certain half-ghost boy was searching a forest, confused. The ghostly man smiled. He turned away and tapped a broken watch on his arm. It was still frozen, never to move again, but he didn't wish to change it.

"Thank you, Danny."

-K-

**DONE!**

**Just out of curiousity, did anyone catch the puzzle?**


End file.
